Greater exposure to PM and PM was associated with lower corneal nerve measures: the Maastricht study - a cross-sectional study.

Background: Epidemiological and toxicological studies indicate that increased exposure to air pollutants can lead to neurodegenerative diseases. To further confirm this relationship, we evaluated the association between exposure to ambient air pollutants and corneal nerve measures as a surrogate for neurodegeneration, using corneal confocal microscopy.

Methods: We used population-based observational cross-sectional data from The Maastricht Study including N = 3635 participants (mean age 59.

Measures of fragmentation of rest activity patterns: mathematical properties and interpretability based on accelerometer real life data.

Accelerometers, devices that measure body movements, have become valuable tools for studying the fragmentation of rest-activity patterns, a core circadian rhythm dimension, using metrics such as inter-daily stability (IS), intradaily variability (IV), transition probability (TP), and self-similarity parameter (named ). However, their use remains mainly empirical. Therefore, we investigated the mathematical properties and interpretability of rest-activity fragmentation metrics by providing mathematical proofs for the ranges of IS and IV, proposing maximum likelihood and Bayesian estimators for TP, introducing the activity balance index (ABI) metric, a transformation of , and describing distributions of these metrics in real-life setting.

Retinal Vascular Changes in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Using .

Systemic microvascular regression and dysfunction are considered important underlying mechanisms in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), but retinal changes are unknown. This prospective study aimed to investigate whether retinal microvascular and structural parameters assessed using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) differ between patients with HFpEF and control individuals (i.e.

Role of cardiovascular health factors in mediating social inequalities in the incidence of dementia in the UK: two prospective, population-based cohort studies.

Background: The contribution of modifiable risk factors to social inequalities in dementia, observed in longitudinal studies, remains unclear. We aimed to quantify the role of cardiovascular health factors, assessed using Life's Essential 8 (LE8) score, in mediating social inequalities in incidence of dementia and, for comparison, in incidence of stroke, coronary heart disease, and mortality.

Methods: In this prospective, population-based cohort study, we collected data from the UK Whitehall II Study and UK Biobank databases.

Measures of fragmentation of rest activity patterns: mathematical properties and interpretability based on accelerometer real life data.

Accelerometers, devices that measure body movements, have become valuable tools for studying the fragmentation of rest-activity patterns, a core circadian rhythm dimension, using metrics such as inter-daily stability (IS), intradaily variability (IV), transition probability (TP), and self-similarity parameter (named ). However, their use remains mainly empirical. Therefore, we investigated the mathematical properties and interpretability of rest-activity fragmentation metrics by providing mathematical proofs for the ranges of IS and IV, proposing maximum likelihood and Bayesian estimators for TP, introducing the activity balance index metric, an adaptation of , and describing distributions of these metrics in real-life setting.

Is metabolic-healthy obesity associated with risk of dementia? An age-stratified analysis of the Whitehall II cohort study.

Background: Metabolically healthy obesity is hypothesized to be a benign condition but whether this is the case for dementia remains debated. We examined the role of age at assessment of metabolic-obesity phenotypes in associations with incident dementia.

Methods: Obesity (body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m) and poor metabolic health (≥ 2 of elevated serum triglycerides, low HDL-C, elevated blood pressure, and elevated serum fasting glucose) were used to define four metabolic-obesity phenotypes (metabolically healthy (MHNO) and unhealthy non-obesity (MUNO), metabolically healthy (MHO) and unhealthy obesity (MUO)) at < 60, 60 to < 70, and ≥ 70 years using 6 waves of data from the Whitehall II study and their associations with incident dementia was examined using Cox regression.

Thinner inner retinal layers are associated with lower cognitive performance, lower brain volume, and altered white matter network structure-The Maastricht Study.

Introduction: The retina may provide non-invasive, scalable biomarkers for monitoring cerebral neurodegeneration.

Methods: We used cross-sectional data from The Maastricht study (n = 3436; mean age 59.3 years; 48% men; and 21% with type 2 diabetes [the latter oversampled by design]).

(Pre)diabetes and a higher level of glycaemic measures are continuously associated with corneal neurodegeneration assessed by corneal confocal microscopy: the Maastricht Study.

Aims/hypothesis: To assess the associations between glucose metabolism status and a range of continuous measures of glycaemia with corneal nerve fibre measures, as assessed using corneal confocal microscopy.

Methods: We used population-based observational cross-sectional data from the Maastricht Study of N=3471 participants (mean age 59.4 years, 48.

Association Between Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness and Incident Dementia in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer in Norfolk Cohort.

Background: Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness may reflect cerebral status.

Objective: This study assessed the relationship between RNFL thickness and incident all-cause dementia in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer in Norfolk (EPIC-Norfolk) Eye Study.

Methods: Glaucoma detection with variable corneal compensation (GDx-VCC) and Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph II (HRT II) derived global mean RNFL thickness from dementia-free participants at baseline within the EPIC-Norfolk Eye Study were analyzed.

Associations of inner retinal layers with risk of incident dementia: An individual participant data analysis of four prospective cohort studies.

Introduction: Our main objective was to investigate whether retinal neurodegeneration, estimated from lower thickness of inner retinal layers, was associated with incident all-cause dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: We performed an individual participant data meta-analysis using unpublished data from four prospective cohort studies with a total of 69,955 participants (n = 1087 cases of incident all-cause dementia; n = 520 cases incident AD; follow-up time median [interquartile range] 11.3 [8.

Retinal Functional and Structural Neural Indices: Potential Biomarkers for the Monitoring of Cerebral Neurodegeneration: The Maastricht Study.

Background: If retinal indices of neurodegeneration are to be biomarkers for the monitoring of cerebral neurodegeneration, it is important to establish whether potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia are associated with retinal neurodegenerative changes.

Objective: To study associations of dementia risk factors with retinal sensitivity, an index of retinal neural function, and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, an index of retinal neural structure.

Methods: We used cross-sectional data from The Maastricht Study (up to 5,666 participants, 50.

Alcohol consumption and microvascular dysfunction: a J-shaped association: The Maastricht Study.

Background: Microvascular dysfunction (MVD) is an important contributor to major clinical disease such as stroke, dementia, depression, retinopathy, and chronic kidney disease. Alcohol consumption may be a determinant of MVD.

Objective: Main objectives were (1) to study whether alcohol consumption was associated with MVD as assessed in the brain, retina, skin, kidney and in the blood; and (2) to investigate whether associations differed by history of cardiovascular disease or sex.

Neurovascular coupling unit dysfunction and dementia: Retinal measurements as tools to move towards population-based evidence.

Dysfunction of the neurovascular coupling unit may be an important contributor to dementia. The neurovascular coupling unit comprises neuronal structures (e.g.

(Pre)diabetes, glycemia, and daily glucose variability are associated with retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in The Maastricht Study.

Retinopathy and neuropathy in type 2 diabetes are preceded by retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thinning, an index of neurodegeneration. We investigated whether glucose metabolism status (GMS), measures of glycaemia, and daily glucose variability (GV) are associated with RNFL thickness over the entire range of glucose tolerance. We used cross-sectional data from The Maastricht Study (up to 5455 participants, 48.

Association of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness, an Index of Neurodegeneration, With Depressive Symptoms Over Time.

Importance: Whether neurodegeneration contributes to the early pathobiology of late-life depression remains incompletely understood.

Objective: To investigate whether lower retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, a marker of neurodegeneration, is associated with the incidence of clinically relevant depressive symptoms and depressive symptoms over time.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This is a population-based cohort study from the Netherlands (The Maastricht Study) with baseline examination between 2010 and 2020 and median (IQR) follow-up of 5.

Carotid stiffness is associated with retinal microvascular dysfunction-The Maastricht study.

Objective: This study investigated whether arterial stiffening is a determinant of subtle retinal microvascular changes that precede diabetic retinopathy.

Research Design And Methods: This study used cross-sectional data from the Maastricht Study, a type 2 diabetes-enriched population-based cohort study. We used multivariable linear regression analysis to investigate, in individuals without and with type 2 diabetes, the associations of carotid distensibility coefficient and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity with retinal microvascular diameters and flicker light-induced dilation and adjusted for cardiovascular and lifestyle risk factors.

Blood pressure variability and microvascular dysfunction: the Maastricht Study.

Background: Microvascular dysfunction (MVD) contributes to stroke, dementia, depression, retinopathy and chronic kidney disease. However, the determinants of MVD are incompletely understood. Greater blood pressure variability (BPV) may be one such determinant.

Prognostic DNA methylation markers for hormone receptor breast cancer: a systematic review.

Background: In patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, differentiating between patients with a low and a high risk of recurrence is an ongoing challenge. In current practice, prognostic clinical parameters are used for risk prediction. DNA methylation markers have been proven to be of additional prognostic value in several cancer types.

Higher levels of daily physical activity are associated with better skin microvascular function in type 2 diabetes-The Maastricht Study.

Objective: Physical activity may provide a means for the prevention of cardiovascular disease via improving microvascular function. Therefore, this study investigated whether physical activity is associated with skin and retinal microvascular function.

Methods: In The Maastricht Study, a population-based cohort study enriched with type 2 diabetes (n = 1298, 47.